Food To Calm

Can food really calm you down? Yes. There are ways to consume food and foods themselves that can act as calming agents. Foods that are naturally high in calcium can relax the nerves. Most people think dairy is the #1 source of calcium. Actually, the winner is leafy green veggies. Ding Ding! So eat your greens if you want to stay calm.

Calm is not dead, nor dragging, nor lifeless. It is a very neutral state of being where you can make much better decisions. Calm gives you the non-reactive quality of life that we all so love to be around. Now you can be it. Anti-calm foods are the stimulants we so love: the coffee, meat, alcohol, and spicy foods.

So, what foods help us maintain our cool? I can tell you, different body types manifest different ways of being not calm. Vata’s: the thin types are anxious, Pitta’s: the medium body types tend towards anger, and Kapha’s: the bigger boned types are the more jealous types. (This is a gross generalization, go to Deepak Chopra’s website and take the test on Ayurvedic Body types. We are all combinations of different types; usually two body types are the most prominent. Some people are what is known as tri-doshic which means all three are almost equal.)
For the Vata’s: calming foods are not the cold crunch foods you love but soups, warm puddings, cooked veggies and grains, casseroles.
For the Pitta’s: calming foods are not your beloved spicy foods but things that cool you down like salads, melons, cucumbers, fruit, liver foods like beets, artichokes,
carrots, and radishes.
For the Kapha’s: calming foods are not the sweets you love but the things that move you calmly like bitter herbs used in chai tea without the sugar and astringent
foods like Indian pickles. You will also become calmer when eating less.
Warm milk before bed is really great for relaxing muscles great for Vata’s. You can also use Rice, Soy, Almond or the new alkaline grain blend of Quinoa, and Millet, in place of conventional milk. Golden milk is one of the best things ever. See the recipe below.
Turmeric is the new wonder drug that yogis have known about for ages. It is great for doing everything from closing wounds to releasing excess air from the body (the gas and popping joint sounds). Now health experts are saying for the immune system and heart. Turmeric is the spice of choice in all Indian style cooking.

Golden Milk Recipe:
I recommend sautéing about ¼ pound of Turmeric in either water or ghee (clarified
butter).
1. Sauté it at a low heat till it turns golden brown.
2. Then place in a container and keep it in your fridge.
3. When you want to make Golden Milk take between 1 tbs and 1 tsp of this
majic paste and add your milk or milk substitute into a pot and let them
simmer together while you add cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract to
taste.
4. You can also add agave or honey as a sweetener if necessary.
I personally am not that into sweets. Kapha’s would say, “Add plenty of honey.”
Enjoy this before bedtime. Get calmer. Great.

Commitments:
I ________________________________________________________ commit to knowing my body type and eating by these guidelines for this month to experience how they affect me.

1. I will go to Ayurvedic sites such as http://tinyurl.com/y9m8j9s and take some tests to see what my Doshas are.
2. I will try new foods and new ways of eating and see how that feels. List Foods you will try:
3. I will be open to foods and try Golden Milk. When?